Funds Released for Hilo Bay Mooring Buoys
Gov. Neil Abercrombie has released funds for the installation of day-use mooring buoys to protect coral in Hilo Bay.
The $300,000 appropriation was part of $18.7 million released by the governor today for projects statewide, including $9.9 million for a combination gymnasium/auditorium for Kauai High School.
The five mooring buoys will fulfill part of the requirements of a US Army Corps of Engineers plan for the dredging of the Hilo Harbor channel.
The buoys were required after surveys of the bay revealed a variety of abandoned anchors littering the bottom.
Their installation will give boaters a place to moor their vessels in lieu of dropping an anchor.
Public meetings were held earlier this year by the Department of Land and Natural Resources to give Hilo Bay users an opportunity to weigh in on the location of the buoys.